Seeing Zac Brown

I was scoping my brother's profile on myspace when I saw this band in his top 4 friends. Wondering what a band would be doing in his top 4, I found myself following the link to the Zac Brown Band profile. I instantly fell in love with the first song that played, and the second, and third and fourth. Realizing they were a local band and flipping over their sound, I went ahead and purchased two of their CD's. I submitted a friend request and became one of their many fans! Joey had left town for a week and the house was mine to run. Realizing I had an opportunity to escape for a night without guilt of leaving the kids with him, I diligently went to planning the night out with my best friend. I full heartedly believe in fate and each step of finding and seeing Zac Brown Band was as I see it, destiny in motion.
We were right at the stage, within 6 feet of Zac himself and the bass guitar guy (atleast that's what I think he was playing) was directly in front of us. They rocked the house! We danced from 10pm until 2:23am. I would consider that shutting the place down as it did close at 2:30. I'm definitely a fan of the music but the experience of a live band was incredible! Then there is the added and wonderful bonus of spending the evening with my dearest and bestest friend in the whole great big wide world who I can't thank enough for making it happen! Woohoo!

credit for layout: Kay Miller - Live for the Joy set from KayMillerDesigns

Cody is Improving

It's been crazy around here but I thought I'd give you guys an update! Cody is healing really well. We were able to irrigate his wounds which helped him to open his eye. Through this, we discovered it was filled with blood. But, I believe we might already be seeing the beginning of scabbing and his swelling has gone down to the point that he can wear his glasses. The poor boy is practically blind without them so not only did he have a mutilated face, he was dealing with near blindess too. We took him today to have his hair washed and conditioned which I'm sure made him feel better.Joey and Trevor raced motorcycles on Saturday night and did really well. I'm disappointed that we couldn't be there but Cody couldn't afford to be covered in the red clay dust with open wounds. Instead, my best friend came over and we hung out in the living room and giggled the night away while Cody had a steady flow of friends checking up on him too. Good times!
I got out for a bit on Sunday and bought a couple of photography books. The secret to lighting eludes me and our house stays so dark. I've not taken photos lately like I had been. Between lighting, natural (yet unique) poses and the actual science of manual settings which I've been tinkering with and thanks to digital; settle for trial and error, I just feel the need to learn more. I've enjoyed photography more than I can say but I'm ready to be a master. I've gotten some great photos over the years but it's either sheer luck or Photoshop ability that brings them to life. Besides, there's a big hole in this trial and error plan and someday, I'm afraid I'll miss THE shot because of it.
Anyway, everything's getting back to normal. All in all, it's the best case scenario of any trauma. We could stack the miracles of near misses and the timing of it all in piles... I know there's a reason for everything. We are truly blessed and we've been reminded just how precious life is and just how important our friends and family are to us. That's what I'm taking from this event.
Here's a photo of his healing progress. I'm mighty proud of this boy. He's been incredibly brave and I'm sure grateful he's improving as quickly as he is.

Home from Hospital

Cody had a serious bicycle accident yesterday. Face plant into the dirt right over the handle bars while going over a two foot plastic ramp in a neighbor's front yard. He's been over the same ramp countless times but luck wasn't on his side this last time. He was unconscious for several minutes.

He was first transported by ambulance, then life flight to Eggleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta. He was admitted for overnight stay. After X-rays and various testing he was cleared to come home with some pretty hefty facial lacerations and "yard" burn. No broken bones, no paralysis.... He does have "air" under his skin which is NOT supposed to be happening. It has managed to get through one of his various lacerations and poses the potential for infection. His glasses didn't break into his eyes, no brain swelling, So many reasons to be thankful.

I'm posting the photos in my myspace folder. He's going to be out of school next week while on pain meds, anasthetic mouth wash, antibacterial gel and antibiodics. He's been a trooper. Breaks my heart to see him being so brave through all of it. We weren't admitted until 2am as we were waiting on the surgeon to stitch him up. None of us slept much if at all. (Joey & I stayed with him. Joey's sister took our two younger ones) So we'll do some resting up, keep the boy inclined and slow the pace down for a bit so he has a chance to recover. They say it'll be 2-3 weeks for scabbing and healing but that's pretty quick thanks to his youth.

Please keep him in your prayers for a steady and speedy recovery. It would be most appreciated!

Photo Link: Cody

Thank you all for your support!

Tonya